2018-11-13
The complainant has anxiety and has an assistance animal. She alleged she was refused entry to the respondent museum because she was accompanied by her assistance dog, despite her dog wearing a jacket identifying it as an assistance animal. She further alleged a staff member had yelled at her for bringing a dog into the museum and ‘chased’ her out of the museum. The complainant alleged the museum failed to respond to a complaint about the alleged conduct.
The museum claimed the complainant’s assistance dog’s jacket was not visible at the time of the alleged events and denied that a staff member yelled at her or ‘chased’ her from the museum. The museum acknowledged there was a delay in responding to the complainant’s complaint, explaining this was due to a change in management.
The complaint was resolved with an agreement that the museum pay the complainant $5,000 and place a sign at its entry stating assistance animals are welcome at the museum. The complainant agreed to withdraw a complaint about the same incident to a different body and to provide the museum with free resources it can use to train its staff on responding appropriately to patrons with assistance animals.
Year
Discrimination type
Disability Discrimination Act
Grounds
Disability
Areas
Access to premises
Goods, services and facilities
Compensation
Anti discrimination/EEO training introduced
Amount
$5,000